Nash's Demon Breath Deal
by Xealvi
Summary: SPOILER! DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED 3RD BOOK IN THE SERIES! Nash gets addicted to Demons breath, and goes to Avari for more. Describes the deal that was left out of the book. From Nash's POV.


**I do not own any of the characters or ideas from Soul Screamers. Please enjoy and review!**

"You owe me Todd." I say gruffly to my grim reaper brother.

"I know, I know." He sighs as a lady walks through his figure.

The ache in my body was growing stronger by the minute. If Todd didn't hurry up and get me to the Netherworlds, I was going to have to kill him. Permanently.

"Doesn't Kaylee get off her grounding tomorrow?" Todd glances at me.

"Yeah." I answer and my thoughts drift to my girlfriend.

A _bean sidhe_ like myself, we'd gone to hell and back again together over the last three months. She hadn't known her own heritage until I'd told her and since then, our worlds have been turn upside down.

A jabbing sensation pounds my stomach and a shiver goes through my body. I keep my face stoic though. Todd couldn't find out what I was about to do.

"So are we going or not?" I ask my brother again.

He sighs and runs his hand through his hair. Even though he was dead, my brother still managed to get on my nerves. Especially now. If I don't get the substance I need, I think I'm going to die.

"Fine. But only 'cause I owe you. Freaking Netherworld creeps me out."

"A big bad grim reaper like yourself is scared of the Netherworlds?" I joke.

"No…it just freaks me out. It's not normal."

"You just don't like that fact that you can't use your powers there."

Suddenly Todd grabs my arm and a twisting sensation covers the feeling of absolute need. I nearly gasp in happiness, but the need is back as soon as we arrive.

"Well, here we are." Todd announces unhappily. "Where are we going?"

"You're not coming." I tell him harshly.

"Nash…" My brother starts but I interrupt him.

"Todd, you'll meet me back here in an hour. Netherworlds time." I add after thinking a minute.

"Alright." He says and then disappears from sight.

I nod to myself and then hunch over. My stomach quickly empties itself and the pain wracks my brain. The only thought in my head was to get rid of the pain. Everything else I had tried had failed. I was down to my last option.

Struggling through the pain, I stand and then turn to enter the building behind me. I put a hard expression on my face as I enter and face the Netherworld creatures.

The door shuts behind me, and I do my best to look like I belong there. Out of the corners of my eyes I can see the lowlifes that survive on this plane of existence. Creatures so hideous they could be the center of any child's nightmares.

A stray tail flicks out and nearly trips me, but I step over it and ignore its eyeless possessor. Beings with tails and no eyes weren't even the weirdest of the creatures here. Fortunately, I've hurried down the hall before any of them can confront me.

Without looking back, I press the up button on the elevator and rush myself inside. Need laces my thoughts and I feel the burning desire to scream. Not the scream of a female _bean sidhe_ though. That wasn't possible for the male counterpart of my species.

I was addicted to the Demon's Breath and the only way in my mind I could see to get rid of the pain was to get more.

_You should tell Kaylee._ My annoying conscience speaks up. _You know she'll help you._

My face contorts in pain once again and I push the thought out of my head. It was surprisingly easy and only in the back of my mind did I worry about it.

I was going straight to the heart of the problem. Only a few weeks ago, Todd had found out that his ex-girlfriend had sold her soul to a demon of greed: Avari. Kaylee told him that we'd help. I had been opposed to the idea. It wasn't our problem. But I couldn't say no to Kaylee.

To find the demon that Todd's ex hold sold her soul to, we had to get information from one of the creatures that lived here. We had to trade demon's breath for information. The breath had been contained in balloons, but one had popped all over me. I accidentally inhaled, and now here I stand.

The elevator doors open and I hold my head high as I walk straight into a nightmare. My legs ache with every step as I resist the urge to rub my cold hands together. Nervously, I chew the peppermint gum in my mouth. I really didn't like gum, but it hid the smell of demon breath from my mouth. And the cold came with the addiction. Mood swings would be right around the corner.

"Nash. I can't say I'm surprised to see you here." A man says behind a desk.

I sneer at the man. Avari looks back at me with a smile of contempt on his face. Although he looked like a middle aged man with a potbelly and bling, I knew better. Behind the dark sunglasses he wore were eyes that were blacker than any night, for there was no light at all.

"I guess you've been expecting me then." I say.

"Of course." Avari gives me a slimy grin. "When you were here before, I could already smell the addiction growing on you."

_Ok? Creepy._ _But that's demons for you._ "Then I guess you know what I want."

"I do. The only question is…how far are you willing to go for it?"

I don't answer. Mostly because my stomach felt like emptying itself. As I try and calm my insides without giving away any emotion, I can't think of anything but getting the demon's breath.

"You're already feeling the need aren't you Nash." Avari states. Dimly I notice that it wasn't a question, but I toss it aside.

"What do you want?" I spit out through my teeth.

"Emotion." His face is completely stoic.

"Why?" I can't help it. The request was just so bizarre from a demon of greed.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out."

I shrug. My need was too bad; I really didn't care how I got it anymore. Right in front of my eyes, my hands were shaking even though I felt like I was controlling them.

"Sure. What kind?"

Avari gives me another creepy evil grin. "From your memories."

I blink my eyes to sort through a haze gathering around them. What did Avari want? I couldn't hear.

"Your memories." Avari repeats as though he could hear my thoughts.

"Sure, yeah." I agree as I clench my hands to make them stop shaking. What were the emotions of a few memories anyway? They had already happened. It's not like I would need them anyway.

"Then we have a deal." Avari sticks out his hand and I dazedly reach out to shake it.

Avari stands and walks out from his desk. He stands right in front of me and then he takes off his glasses.

My gaze is caught in the complete emptiness of his eyes. I felt like I was falling into a hole of nothingness. Dimly I hear Avari saying that it wasn't going to hurt, but I feel as if I'm frozen in time.

Suddenly Avari leans down and his lips are on mine. In spite of the haze around my mind, I feel the instinctive urge to push him away. I have to force myself not to.

It didn't really feel like a kiss though. More like transportation. Nothing like what I do with Kaylee.

_Oh God, Kaylee!_ The thought jumps in my head. Suddenly Avari breaths into me. Like you would do in CPR, or something.

The demons breath fills my entire body. My entire body screams in protest at the foul substance at first, but then sighs in relief.

My limbs stop shaking and my head clears. All the pain disappears like I had just taken a very powerful painkiller. For the first time in a month, I could think clearly.

Avari steps back and gives me a smug smile. Then I remember my thought during the "kiss" Avari had given me.

Desperately, I go back to my memories. First I remember the day my dad died. I could see my mom crying with my brother, and I knew I was crying too. But I couldn't feel anything. It was like all the emotion had been sucked out of the memory.

The horror of what I had just done fully hits me. As I silently plead, I think back to the first time I had kissed Kaylee. I could see her, as beautiful as ever but nothing. I didn't feel anything. My heart didn't beat faster and the usual feeling of warmth and love didn't come.

_Oh no._ I recheck all my most dear memories, but not a single one gives me any emotion. In horror, I look up at Avari.

He licks his lips and gives me that creepy smile again. "Welcome to the business Nash."


End file.
